CT Internet safety expert discusses Ashley Madison website hack

The parent company of that cheating matchmaking website Ashley Madison announced it was hacked on Monday.

Now the personal information of some of its clientele has been posted on the World Wide Web, so Eyewitness News talked to a local computer expert about the hack.

AshleyMadison.com, which is a website where cheating spouses go to find a man or mistress, was hacked. The hack was trending on social media all day on Monday.

The parent company of the affair finding website admitting some of its users’ personal information was stolen and blasted out online. There are millions of members logging in daily to the popular site that promotes adultery.

“It takes a very sophisticated person to break into that system and then they have access to everything,” Internet Safety Expert Scott Driscoll said. "The more we share, the more this could happen to us, the less we share, the better off we are.”

But Avid Life Media said they've had the hackers' posts removed and hired a technology security firm.

According to a cyber-security blog that first reported the hack, they call themselves "the impact team.” They are claiming to have compromised user databases, financial records and random personal data.

They're reportedly annoyed by the company’s “full delete service," which promises to make a user's profile disappear for less than $20.

But those hackers allegedly said it's all a lie. Even threatened to release all company information if the site isn't taken offline.

So Eyewitness News asked Driscoll how we can you protect yourself on the internet.

“We have to be careful of where we go on the web. It's easy to lose control on how much time we give out our drivers' license number, our credit card number,” Driscoll said. “We should very rarely if ever give our social security number over a website, especially on websites that may be questionable.”

Driscoll owns and operates Internet Safety Concepts.

“If the hack has already happened, it’s already happened. Now what you have to do is prevent and react to it by getting in touch with your banking institutions, letting them know what happened, so you can protect your assets,” Driscoll said. “[You need to] make sure you're a little more careful about what sites you go to and how much information we give.”

Driscoll said people should change passwords or changing names on social media accounts as well as changing your cell phone number.

“It doesn't take much to call the company to say I've been hacked,” Driscoll said. “I want a new number to protect myself, little steps like that can add security."

Technical Discussion

THE FINAL DAY OF SPRING… Some overnight cloud cover prevented temperatures this morning from going as cold as they could have, if the sky would’ve been clear. Now that they’re eroding, the rest of the day will be mostly sunny. After starting out in the 20s and low 30s, temperatures will peak in the upper 30s and lower 40s this afternoon – well below the average high of 49!

THE FINAL DAY OF SPRING… Some overnight cloud cover prevented temperatures this morning from going as cold as they could have, if the sky would’ve been clear. Now that they’re eroding, the rest of the day will be mostly sunny. After starting out in the 20s and low 30s, temperatures will peak in the upper 30s and lower 40s this afternoon – well below the average high of 49!

Technical Discussion

Monday will be bright and chilly. High temperatures will be in the mid to upper 30s in inland sections and lower 40s along the shore. A cell of high pressure will move overhead, and then to the east of the region today and will be the dominating factor in the weather, thus promising the quieter spell.

Monday will be bright and chilly. High temperatures will be in the mid to upper 30s in inland sections and lower 40s along the shore. A cell of high pressure will move overhead, and then to the east of the region today and will be the dominating factor in the weather, thus promising the quieter spell.